Background: The A. Philip Randolph Institute (APRI) and its educational arm, the A. Philip Randolph Educational Fund (APREF) have their roots in the massive August 1963 March on Washington. The march was conceived by A. Philip Randolph and organized by Bayard Rustin. Its purpose was to broaden the southern civil rights movement led by Martin Luther King to one that would demonstrate a national unity for political, economic and social justice for blacks. The march was an overwhelming success, an event that saw more than 200,000 people gather before the White House to hear Randolph make a commitment to "join and support all actions undertaken in good faith and in accord with timehonored democratic traditions of nonviolent protest or peaceful assembly and petition, and of redress through the courts and the legislative process."(2)

Both APRI and APREF were founded in 1965 by Philip Randolph with the assistance of Bayard Rustin(2). Both groups are closely linked to and funded by the AFL-CIO. (5,6) Randolph served as the chairman of APRI until his death in 1979. (2) Bayard Rustin served as president and later co-chair until his death in 1987. (4) APRI works to promote cooperation between the labor force, unions and the black community. It currently has built a membership of over 18,000 blacks, organized into 180 affiliate chapters in 39 states. (3,22) The APRI network serves as a liaison between the black community and the trade unions to advance economic, civil and social equality. (3) Dedicated to working nonviolently and within legal limits, APRI works politically to educate and register voters, to build coalitions to work for legislative changes, and to assist unions in their activities benefiting the black community. (1,3) High level officials from AFL-CIO affiliates and other major unions sit on the board of APRI. (5)

The political and philosophical positions of APRI are compatible with those of the neoconservative, anticommunist Social Democrats, USA. (22) Bayard Rustin served as president of SD/USA until his death and current APRI president, Norman Hill is on its board of directors. (18,37)

According to the group’s promotional literature, APREF works through education for the elimination of prejudice and discrimination from all areas of life; education of individuals and groups on their rights in and responsibilities to society; the defense of human and civil rights; assistance in employment and education of the underprivileged; and assistance to communities in their battles with deterioration, delinquency, and crime. (1)

Funding: Primary support comes from the AFL-CIO. (6) Until 1982, APRI solicited funds from the national offices of the member unions of the AFL-CIO. At the 1982 AFL-CIO convention a measure was passed that increased the AFL-CIO dues to cover funding of APRI and the other affiliate organizations of the AFL-CIO. (23)

The 1985 annual report of the National Endowment for Democracy shows a $15,000 grant to APRI for "Project South Africa."(7) In 1985, the Joyce Mertz-Gilmore Fdn gave APRI three grants: $60,000 to "defend and expand human and civil rights and democratic values" and to "oppose authoritarian systems and totalitarian systems"; and two $5,000 grants for the Natl Coalition for Haitian Refugees, an APRI project. (8) The Alfred P. Sloan Fdn granted $10,500 for a report on blacks, the changing nature of work, and unions. (8)

In 1986, the Joyce Mertz-Gilmore Fdn gave $60,000 for general support and the right-wing Smith-Richardson Fdn granted $100,000 to the APRI project on South Africa. (9)

In the program of the 25th anniversary celebration of the March on Washington, APRI gives thanks to the United Steelworkers Union for its combined contributions of $100,000 in 1986 and 1988 for work in voter participation campaigns. (2)

The APRI annual reports do not include financial statements. Therefore, the dollar amount of the funding from the AFL-CIO cannot be determined. According to president Norman Hill, the funding from the AFL-CIO has remained a constant percentage and therefore has grown with the organization. (22) Whether or not all of the APRI funding comes from AFL-CIO dues or if federal funding is passed through to APRI is unclear.

Activities: In 1988 APRI focused its attention on the presidential and congressional elections. It sponsored five regional conferences which included workshops on voter participation and mobilization. (2) In addition, APREF sponsored a mobilization workshop in Houston for coordinators from key election states. (2) APRI also participated in five electionrelated AFL-CIO regional conferences. (2) As a group APRI does not endorse candidates, but is supportive of candidates promoting a higher minimum wage, voluntary restraints on imports, and other pro-labor issues. (22)

Norman Hill continued to write his monthly column in 1988. The column appeared in about 100 black and labor newspapers. Among the subjects covered were the turmoil in Haiti and issues of the 1988 campaigns. (2) Information from an unconfirmed source noted that in 1988 APRI began to direct some of its efforts towards Haiti. An APRI delegation visited there in 1986 and became concerned about "left-leaning" tendencies in the unions. APRI, in keeping with the SD/USA philosophy, works to prevent the spread of communism.

The 25th anniversary of the March on Washington was celebrated by a convention and dinner which were attended by more than 1,000 people, with representatives from 49 unions. (2) In the program for the dinner APRI gave thanks and appreciation to Max M. Kampelman, who has served on boards of several rightwing, neoconservative groups, and Henry Kissinger, Secretary of State in the Nixon administration and head of the Bipartisian Commission studying Central America in the Reagan administration. (2)

The Institute began a project in South Africa in 1986. (11) The project was directed by Bayard Rustin and developed by a committee composed of APRI board members and a number of prominent South Africans. Desmond Tutu, the Anglican Bishop of Johannesburg who recently received the Nobel Peace Prize, and Rev. Allan Boesak of the World Alliance of Reform Churches were among the representatives from South Africa. (11) Among the committee members from the U.S. were Leo Cherne, executive director of the Research Institute of America and Leonard Sussman, executive director of Freedom House. (11) The project was designed to develop a political coalition of non-violent, democratic groups working against apartheid and towards peaceful change in South Africa. (11)

However, there have been a number of complaints about U.S. union activities in South Africa being very devisive to labor. (12) While APRI was not directly named, the AFL-CIO was. APRI’s primary funder is the AFL-CIO, and 90 percent of the AFL

CIO’s funding comes directly from the U.S. government. (6,25) A May/June 1989 article in International Labor Reports carries remarks from Jay Naidoo, general secretary of South Africa’s largest federation, the non-racial Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), that throw additional doubt upon the success of APRI’s efforts."We believe that certain sections of the AFL-CIO have been very divisive in their relation to the worker movement in South Africa. According to the information we have, key individuals within certain of their departments have very suspicious links with the U.S. State Department and intelligence circles."(12)

Government Connections:Private Connections: Because of the many interconnections among the members of the board of APRI, this section will begin with a discussion about the nature of AFL-CIO affiliate groups and other neoconservative groups heavily involved with APRI. There will be a brief description of each group.

Many of the APRI "private" connections are with quasi-governmental organizations. Quasi-governmental groups are supported by government funds, but are not accountable to the public. In essence, they carry out U.S. foreign policy with funds channeled to them by the government, but conduct their activities without Congressional oversight. Since the AFL-CIO receives 90 percent of its funding from the U.S. government, it is fair to say that AFL-CIO affiliates are "government operatives."(25)

The AFL-CIO’s Department of Intl Affairs is a far-reaching international operation. (5) Coordinated by director Tom Kahn, the Department of Intl Affairs includes: the African-Asian Free Labor Institute (AAFLI), the American Institute for Free Labor Development (AIFLD), the African-American Labor Center (AALC); and the Free Trade Union Institute (FTUI). (5) Throughout the 1980s these groups have carried out the anticommunist, counterinsurgency, interventionist policies of the Reagan administration through their work with third world labor groups. While some of the activities of these AFL-CIO affiliates may benefit workers, they also play a part in U.S. foreign policy. (5)

The Coalition for a Democratic Majority (CDM) is another quasi-governmental group of neoconservatives, often tagged as "Reagan Democrats" that work within the ranks of Congress to implement their foreign policy agenda. Key figures in the CDM include Jeane Kirkpatrick, Midge Decter, Leon Keyserling, John P. Roche, and Richard Pipes. (10)

The Committee on the Present Danger grew out of the CDM in 1976. The CPD believes that the greatest evil on the earth is communism and that the Soviet Union is the embodiment of that evil. It presents its case for containment militarism and the need for a strong national defense to the American public. (10)

Freedom House is a human rights organization that studies countries and governments around the globe to determine whether or not they qualify as "democratic." It defines civil liberties and democracy within a neoconservative, anticommunist framework. (26) Freedom House’s approval or disapproval of a third world government will set the tone and policy of its fellow-neoconservative groups discussed in this section. It could be considered the "image management" group of the neoconservative network. Freedom House receives major funding from the National Endowment for Democracy. (24)

The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is a private organization created to channel U.S. Information Agency (USIA) funds for democracy-building projects. The USIA receives its funds from Congress. (5) NED funnels most of its grants through four core groups: the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI); the National Republican Institute for International Affairs; the Center for International Private Engerprise; and the Free Trade Union Institute (FTUI). (24) NED is the major funding source for the AFL-CIO foreign policy affiliates as well as Freedom House. (5)

The final groups to be considered are the Social Democrats, USA (SD/USA) and the League for Industrial Democracy (LID). SD/USA has gathered in its ranks the intellectual members of the anticommunist, neoconservative coalition. (27) It sees labor as the "cutting edge" for social change. (27) The foreign policy as well as the philosophy of APRI come from SD/USA. (22) Both A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin were members; Rustin was the chair for a number of years. (27) The AFL-CIO also relies upon SD/USA for its foreign policy positions. In a recent issue of The New Republic Michael Massing wrote,"The Social Democrats influence at the labor federation is so great that some nonmembers joke about joining in order to advance their careers."(27) In its foreign policy statement, SD/USA says that a free labor movement is a key to democracy, and praises the AFL-CIO and NED as organizations leading the way to democracy around the world. (28)

The League for Industrial Democracy (LID) is closely connected to SD/USA. The groups share offices and philosophies. (29) LID has been supportive of APRI’s project in South Africa. (30)

Bayard Rustin was on the original board of the CPD. (10) He was chairman of the exec committee of Freedom House, chairman of SD/USA, vice pres of LID, and on the board of CDM. (37,27,38,39) Rustin also served as the vice pres-intl of the Intl Rescue Committee, a private voluntary organization which assists refugees from totalitarian oppression. (40) IRC has worked with the CIA in Vietnam and currently cooperates with the U.S. government on operations in El Salvador. (5)

Max Kampelman has served on the boards of the Coalition for a Democratic Majority and the Committee on the Present Danger. (10) Kampelman is chairman of the board of Freedom House. (5) He was a presidentially appointed, ex-officio member of the U.S. Institute of Peace. The goal of the institute is to promote peaceful resolution of international conflicts. It is a private group funded by the government, and is authorized to disseminate classified materials from the U.S. intelligence community. (31)

Norman Hill is currently on the boards of Freedom House, the Social Democrats,(18) the Coalition for a Democratic Majority (CDM),(35) and the League for Industrial Democracy (LID). (16) Hill also serves as vice pres of the Bayard Rustin Fund. (2) Velma Hill, wife of Norman, is the natl vice chair of LID and serves with him on the board of SD/USA and the Bayard Rustin Fund. (2,16,18)

Frederick O’Neal is currently on the board of LID. (16) In 1988, he was on the board of the American Institute for Free Labor Development (AIFLD) and was vice pres of the AFLCIO. (5,14) O’Neal also served as sec-tres for the AfricanAmerican Labor Center (AACL). (15) He is on the board of the Bayard Rustin Fund. (2)

Albert Shanker currently serves on the boards of Freedom House, the Free Trade Union Institute (FTUI), SD/USA, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), and CDM. (5,18,23,24) He is the tres of LID. (16) In 1988, he was vice pres of the AFLCIO,(14) and on the board of trustees of AIFLD. (5) He also served on the board of AALC and the African Asian Free Labor Institute. (15) Shanker was a founder of the Committee on the Present Danger (CPD), the anti-Soviet group of major importance in the early years of the Reagan administration. (10) Shanker is also an honorary chairperson of the recently-formed Bayard Rustin Fund. (2) Thomas Bell, Jr. is on the board of trustees of the Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank. Kenneth Blaylock was vice pres of the AFL-CIO in 1988. (14) Kenneth Blaylock, William Bywater, and Marvin Boede were also vice presidents of the AFL-CIO in 1988. (14) Blaylock currently serves on the board of LID. (16) Boede is on the board of directors of FTUI. (5,23) Bywater has served on the AIFLD board. (5,32) Wayne E. Glenn is on the board of directors of AALC. (15)

John DeConcini is a vice pres of the AFL-CIO and on the board of directors of FTUI. (14,23) Angelo Fosco and Thomas Gleason are currently on the board of trustees of AAFLI. (15) James E. Hatfield is on the boards of FTUI and AIFLD. (23,32) Morris L Fried and Ray Marshall are currently on the board of LID. (16)

Rachelle Horowitz serves on the boards of NDI and LID. (41,17) She is on the Natl Advisory Council of SD/USA. (18) She has been on the board of directors of the American Federation of Teachers. (19) She was also one of the founders of CPD. (20) Horowitz serves on the board of the Bayard Rustin Fund. (2) She is the wife of Thomas Donohue who is the secretary of the AFL-CIO. (5)

John T. Joyce serves on the boards of NDI, FTUI, LID, AIFLD, AAFLI, and the AALC board of trustees. (41,23,16,32,15)

Tom Kahn is the chairman of LID. (16) He is also on the board of directors of FTUI, the board of the Bayard Rustin Fund, and the national committee of SD/USA. (2,18,23) In 1986, Kahn was the director of the intl affairs dept of the AFL-CIO. (5) Kahn, along with Bayard Rustin and Norman Hill, was an organizer of the March on Washington in 1963. (2)

Richard I. Kilroy serves on the board of trustees of AIFLD and AAFLI. (32,15) He is also on the board of directors of AALC. (15)

Lane Kirkland, president of the AFL-CIO, serves on the boards of NED, FTUI, and AIFLD. (23,24,32) He is also listed as president of the AALC and AAFLI. (15) Kirkland is an honorary chairperson of the Bayard Rustin Fund. (2)

Jay Mazur is on boards of FTUI, CDM, LID, AIFLD, AALC, and AAFLI. (23,35,16,32,15,23) Mazur has also been on the board of the Natl Committee for Labor Israel-Histadrut, the main labor federation in Israel. Histadrut receives AFL-CIO funding and is supportive of its anticommunist policies. (5)

Joyce Miller serves on the National Advisory Council of SD/USA and the boards of LID, AIFLD, and AAFLI. (18,16,32,15) Leonore Miller is on the board of AALC. (15)

Emanuel Muravchik, John Roche, and Arch Puddington are on the board of LID and the natl committee of SD/USA. (16,18) Roche is also on the advisory board of CDM. (35) He was among the founders of CPD and currently serves on the CPD executive committee. (20,34) Roche serves on the board of directors of the Bayard Rustin Fund. (2) Arch Puddington works for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. He was the editor of SD/USA’s newspaper. (27) Donald Slaiman is the pres of SD/USA and on the board of LID. (16) He also serves on the board of the Bayard Rustin Fund. (2) Jacob Sheinkman serves on the natl council of LID. (16) Gus Tyler is on the board of LID. (16)

Robert C. Weaver is on the domestic advisory council of Freedom House. (17)

Lynn Williams is on the boards of FTUI, LID, AIFLD, and AALC. (23,16,32,15) William Winpisinger is on the boards of trustees of AIFLD and AAFLI and the board of AALC. (32,15) William Wynn is a member of the board of trustees of AIFLD and AAFLI. (32,15)

Carl Gershman is executive director of NED and on the board of directors of the Committee for a Free World. (24,33) He also served as a consultant to the Natl Bipartisan Commission on Central America (the Kissinger Commission) in 1984. (21) From 1974 to 1980 Gershman was the exec dir of SD/USA. (5) He was a resident scholar at Freedom House and served as chief aide to former UN ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick. (5)

Sol Chaikin is the vice pres of LID, on the board of trustees of Freedom House, the natl advisory council of SD/USA, and the board of directors of CDM. (16,17,18,35) He was also a founder of CDP in 1976. (20) Leo Cherne is chairman of the Intl Rescue Committee, the honorary chair of Freedom House and a member of the advisory board of the conservative think tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies. (40,17,36)

Misc:Comments: APRI is an organization where the interconnections among individuals and activities are more important than the organization itself. It is a member of a network organizations indirectly funded by the U.S. government carrying out an unofficial U.S. foreign policy agenda. Ostensibly, this agenda is one of promoting democracy around the world through anticommunist activities. However, it must be noted that a sideeffect of this agenda is that the development of democracy in this fashion expands and entrenches U.S. influence in third world countries. It is very unusual in a group of this size to find no government connections, particularly when the group is funded primarily by government money from the USIA to NED, from NED to the AFL-CIO, and from the AFL-CIO to APRI. However, it is this distancing from the "official" government that allows APRI to operate in the field without public scrutiny.

U.S. Address: 260 Park Avenue, South, New York, NY 10010

Principals: Norman Hill, pres and exec dir; Frederick O’Neal, vice pres and intl pres of the Assoc of Actors & Artists of America; Albert Shanker, tres and pres of the American Federation of Teachers; Edgar Romney, sec and head of local 2325 of the Intl Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union. (1,2)

Carl Gershman, now pres of the Natl Endowment for Democracy, was research dir for APRI in the late 1960s. (5) Sol Chaikin, former pres of the Intl Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union, served on the board until 1986. (11) Leon Keyserling served on the board until 1986. (11) Tom Kahn and Norman Hill joined Bayard Rustin in drawing up the original proposal for the 1963 March on Washington. (2)

Morton Bahr, pres of the Communication Workers of America; Owen Bieber, pres of the United Auto Workers; Gerald W. McEntee, pres of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees; John J. Sweeney, pres of the Service Employees Union; and Robert A. Georgine, pres of the Building and Construction Trades Dept served on the APRI task force for "The Changing Economy and Unions: An Analysis and Program for the Black-Labor Alliance."(4)

Lane Kirkland, president of the AFL-CIO, and Leo Cherne, chairman of the Intl Rescue Committee served as a U.S. sponsors for APRI’s South Africa project. (13) Kirkland wrote the introduction to APRI’s report,"The Changing Economy and Unions: An Analysis and Program for the Black-Labor Alliance. (4)

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